Archery bow with variable bowlimb tensioning devices

ABSTRACT

An adjustable bow in which reinforcing members are movable longitudinally of bowlimbs to provide a tension adjustment for each of the bowlimbs, and separate drive means are provided for the reinforcing members so that each bow limb can be adjusted in tension separate from the other bowlimb. In some embodiments only two reinforcing members are provided, but in other embodiments, further reinforcing members are provided. In the latter case, one pair of reinforcing members provide coarse adjustment of the bowlimbs and another pair of reinforcing members provides fine adjustment of the bowlimbs. Indicating scales are provided on the bow to show the amount of tension adjustment for the bowlimbs.

United States Patent Palma ARCHERY BOW WITH VARIABLE BOWLIMB TENSIONINGDEVICES [76} Inventor: James R. Palma, 1502 Curry Rd.,

Schenectady, NY. 12306 [22} Filed: July 18, 1972 [21} Appl. No.: 272,738

152} US. Cl. 124/23 R, 124/30 R [5 I 1 Int. Cl. F4lb 5/00 [58] Field ofSearch 124/23, 24. 25, 22, 30 R, 124/35, 41; 74/29 [56] References CitedUNITED STATES PATENTS 3 625,193 12/1971 Palrna 1. 124/23 3,475,97311/1969 Blazek et al. 1 r r 74/29 3,561,418 2/1971 Fredrickson 124/24 RApr. 9, 1974 Primary ExaminerRichard C. Pinkham AssistantExaminer-William R. Browne Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Oltman and Flynn lABSTRACT An adjustable bow in which reinforcing members are movablelongitudinally of bowlimbs to provide a tension adjustment for each ofthe bowlimbs, and separate drive means are provided for the reinforcingmembers so that each bowlimb can be adjusted in tension separate fromthe other bowlimb. In some embodiments only two reinforcing members areprovided, but in other embodiments. further reinforcing members areprovided. In the latter case, one pair of reinforcing members providecoarse adjustment of the bowlimbs and another pair of reinforcingmembers provides fine adjustment of the bowiimbs. Indicating scales areprovided on the bow to show the amount of tension adjustment for thebowlimbs.

10 Claims, 16 Drawing Figures ?ATENTEDM=R 91914 SHEU 2 (IF 3 ARCHERY BOWWITH VARIABLE BOWLIMB TENSIONING DEVICES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Thepresent inventor has previously developed an adjustable bow in whichreinforcing members are movable longitudinally of bowlimbs to provide anadjustment of the tension of the bowlimbs. Such a device is describedand claimed in US. Pat. No. 3,625,193 issued to the present inventor. Inthat device, the reinforcing members overlap at the central portion ofthe bow, and a single drive means interconnects the two reinforcingmembers and makes it possible to move those members back and forth incavities in the bowlimbs for adjusting the tension of the bowlimbs. Ithas been found that in some cases it would be desirable to be able toadjust the tension of one bowlimb separately from the other. it has alsobeen found that there is sometimes need for a coarse adjustment oftension and in addition a fine adjustment of tension. The presentinvention is directed to these and other objectives.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides an adjustablebow with reinforcing members which are movable relative to the twobowlimbs of the bow for adjusting the tension of the bowlimbs, and thereare separate drive means for the two reinforcing members so that onemember can be moved separately from the other to adjust the tension ofone bowlimb separately from the other. In some embodiments, only tworeinforcing members are provided, but in other embodiments, there is onepair of reinforcing members providing coarse adjustment of bowlimbtension and another pair of reinforcing members providing fineadjustment of bowlimb tension. Optionally, the bowlimbs may bedetachable from the central portion or handle of the bow to provide aknock-down bow. The drive means for the reinforcing members preferablyhas an associated indicating means for indicating the tensionadjustments of the bowlimbs.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide animproved adjustable bow in which the tension of each of two bowlimbs isadjustable separately.

Another object of the invention is to incorporate both coarseadjustments and fine adjustments of the tension of bowlimbs in anadjustable archery bow.

Still another, and no less important, object of the invention is toprovide multiple pairs of reinforcing mem bers in an adjustable bow forcoarse and fine adjustments of the bowlimbs of the bow.

Other objects of this invention will appear from the followingdescription and appended claims, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings forming a part of this specification wherein like referencecharacters designate corresponding parts in the several views.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an elevational view, partlyin section, of an adjustable bow in accordance with one embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary elevational view of the central portion of thebow of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. I andlooking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 1 andlooking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 5 is an elevational view, partly in section, of an adjustable bowin accordance with another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary elevational view of the central portion of thebow of FIG. 5;

Fit). 7 is an elevational view, partly in section, of an adjustable bowin accordance with still another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary elevational view of the central portion of thebow of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view taken along line 9-9 of H6. 7 andlooking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 10 is a cross sectional view taken along line 10-18 of FIG. 7 andlooking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary view of a modification of the bows of FIGS. 1,5 and 7;

FIG. 12 is a cross sectional view taken along line 12-12 of FIG. 11 andlooking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary perspective view of a modification of the bowsof FIGS. 1, 5 and 7;

FIG. 14 is a sectional view taken along line 14-44 of FIG. 13 andlooking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 15 is an elevational view of another modification; and

FIG. 16 is a fragmentary exploded view of the central portion of the bowof FIG. 15.

Before explaining the present invention in detail, it is to beunderstood that the invention is not limited in its application to thedetails of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of otherembodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also,it is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employedherein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.

DETAILED DESCRlPTiON The adjustable bow 20 of FIGS. 1 through 4 includesa pair of bowlimbs 22 and 24 with a handle 26 between the bowlimbs. Abowstring 28 extends between the opposite ends 30 and 32 of thebowlimbs.

The bowlimb 22 ha two elongated cavities 34 and 36 extendinglongitudinally therein, and the bowlimb 24 also has two elongatedcavities 38 and 40 extending longitudinally therein. All of thesecavities may open into a hollow space 42 in the handle 26 of the bow.

Two elongated reinforcing members 44 and 46 are received respectively incavities 34 and 38 and are slidable longitudinally of those cavities.The reinforcing members 44 and 46 are preferably made of metal, althoughother materials are possible. The reinforcing members 44 and 46 are alsopreferably tapered in generally the same sense as the bowlimbs aretapered so that they will move more easily in the cavities 34 and 38.

The inner ends 48 and S0 of the reinforcing members 44 and 46 mayoverlap each other as shown in FIG. 1 and have rack teeth 52 and 54thereon which are both engaged by a single pinion 56. The pinion 56 isrotatable to drive the two reinforcing members 44 and 46 back and forthin the bowlimbs 22 and 24 to provide an adjustment of the tension of thebowlimbs. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the adjustment provided by thereinforcing members 44 and 46 is a fine adjustment of the tension of thebowlimbs, and a coarse adjustment is also provided as will be explainedfurther.

Two additional reinforcing members 58 and 60 are received respectivelyin the elongated cavities 36 and 40 and are movable or slidablelongitudinally therein. The reinforcing members 58 and 60 are alsopreferably made of metal. It may be seen that the cavities 36 and 40 areshorter than cavities 34 and 38, and the reinforcing members 58 and 60are also shorter than reinforcing members 44 and 46. The purpose of theadditional reinforcing members 58 and 60 is to provide a coarseadjustment of the tension of the bowlimbs 22 and 24.

The inner ends 62 and 64 of the reinforcing members 58 and 60 mayoverlap each other and have opposed rack teeth 66 and 70 which are bothengaged by a single rotatable pinion 72. Rotation of the pinion 72drives the reinforcing members 58 and 60 in opposite directionslongitudinally in the cavities 36 and 40 to provide the coarseadjustment of the bowlimbs 22 and 24.

The pinions 56 and 72 have actuator shafts 74 and 76 respectively whichextend through the handle 26 to the outside of the handle. There arehandpieces or knobs 78 and 80 attached respectively to the actuator 74and 76, and these knobs are rotated to turn the pinions 56 and 72. Theknobs 78 and 80 have pointers which cooperate with indicating scales 82and 84 on the handle 26 to indicate both the coarse adjustment and thefine adjustment of the bowlimbs.

The bow may be made in laminated sections as indicated in FIG. 3 whereone section 86 has the reinforcing members 46 and 60 inside it, and theother section 88 closes the cavities in which the reinforcing membersare received. It will be understood, however, that the two sectionscould be halves which join together to form the cavities or someequivalent arrangement. The two sections may be made of wood and securedtogether adhesively. Note that a pin 90 may be utilized to providebacking for the end portions 48 and 64.

The embodiment of FIGS. and 6 is very similar to the embodiment of FIGS.1 through 4, and the same reference numerals are used for like partswith prime designations being utilized where modifications are required.The main difference in the embodiment of FIGS. 5 and 6 as compared tothat of FIGS. 1-4 is that the reinforcing members 44' and 46 have theirinner ends 48' and 50' in line with each other rather than overlappingeach other, and there are separate pinions 92 and 94 engaging the racks52' and 54' on the end portions 48 and 50 respectively. Pinions 92 and94 have actuator portions 96 and 98 which extend through the handle 26,and there are handpieces or knobs 100 and 102 on the actuators 96 and 98respectively. The knobs 100 and 102 have pointers which cooperate withindicating scales 104 and 106. The drive means for the other tworeinforcing members 58 and 60 remains the same, and there is the sameknob 80 and indicating scale 84 for indicating the adjustment of thesereinforcing members 58 and 60. The knobs 100, 102 and scales 104,106allow for separate adjustment of the reinforcing members 44' and 46' sothat the fine adjustment of the tension of bowlimbs 22 and 24 may becarried out separately for each bowlimb.

The embodiment of FIGS. 7-10 inclusive has the same arrangement ofadjusting members 44' and 46 with pinions 92 and 94 and knobs 100 and102, so in this respect, the embodiment of FIG. 7 is very similar to theembodiment of FIG. 5. However, the other reinforcing members 58 and 60are omitted in FIGS. 7-10. Thus, the embodiment of FIGS. 7-10 providesonly two adjustable reinforcing members, but these members make itpossible to separately adjust the tension of the two bowlimb portions 22and 24.

FIGS. 11 and 12 illustrate a modification which may be employed in anyof the embodiments described previously. In this modification, a bowlimb108 has a section 110 with a cavity 112 in it for receiving areinforcing member, but the cavity 112 is only partially closed byplates 114. The plates 114 are spaced longitudinally along the bowlimb108 and are fastened to the section 110 as with screws 116.

FIGS. 13 and 14 illustrate another possible modification wherein abowlimb consists of two sections 122 and 124 laminated together andreinforced by straps 126 which circumscribe the bowlimb 120. The straps126 are spaced longitudinally along the bowlimb 120, and so onlypartially close the cavity 128 for a reinforcing member.

FIGS. 15 and 16 illustrate another modification which may be utilizedwith any of the embodiments described previously. In this modification,the bowlimbs 22' and 24' are detachable from the handle 26. The handle26' may be generally a tubular metal member providing a socket whichreceives reduced portions 130 and 132 at the inner ends of the bowlimbs22' and 24'. The reduced portions 130 and 132 may have openings in themat 134 and 136 which register with openins 138 and 140 in the handle 26.Pins 142 and 144 pass through the registering openings to lock thebowlimbs to the handle. The pins are removable to allow detachment ofthe bowlimbs. Thus, the modification provides a knock-down bow.

The modification of FIGS. 15 and 16 is particularly suitable for usewith the embodiment of FIG. 7, and where this modification is employed,it is desirable to locate the adjustable reinforcing members 44' and 46'entirely within the bowlimbs 22' and 24'.

Thus, the invention provides an adjustable bow which has multipleadjustments. At least two reinforcing members are provided in twobowlimbs of the bow, and these reinforcing members are adjustableseparately by drive means. Optionally, more than two reinforcing membersmay be provided in each bowlimb, and separate drive means are providedso that both coarse adjustments and fine adjustments of the tension ofthe bowlimbs can be achieved. A knock-down adjustable bow is alsodisclosed.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. An adjustable bow comprising first and second bowlimbs each having acavity therein, a handle between said bowlimbs, a pair of elongatedreinforcing means positioned in said cavities for sliding movementtherein, first and second separate drive means for said reinforcing toadjust the tension of the respective bowlimbs means for separatelymoving lack of said reinforcing means in said cavities longitudinally ofsaid bowlimbs for adjusting the tension of the respective bowlimbs, andthird and fourth reinforcing means spaced from said first mentionedreinforcing means for sliding movement longitudinally of said bowlimbsrespectively to provide a further adjustment of the tension of saidbowlimbs.

2. An adjustable bow as defined in claim 1 in which each of said drivemeans comprises rack teeth on the respective reinforcing means, a pinionmeshing with said rack teeth, and an actuator extending outwardly fromsaid pinion having a hand piece for manual actuation.

3. An adjustable bow as claimed in claim 2 in which said hand piececooperates with an indicating scale on one of said bowlimbs.

4. An adjustable bow as claimed in claim 1 in which said third andfourth reinforcing means are driven respectively by said first andsecond drive means.

5. An adjustable bow as claimed in claim 1 including further drive meansfor said third and fourth reinforcing means.

6. An adjustable bow as claimed in claim 5 including indicator means forsaid further drive means.

7. An adjustable bow as claimed in claim 1 in which one pair of saidreinforcing means provides coarse adjustment of the tension of saidbowlimbs and another pair of said reinforcing means provides fineadjustment of the tension of said bowlimbs.

8. An adjustable bow comprising first and second bowlimbs each having acavity therein, a handle between said bowlimbs, a pair of elongatedreinforcing means for sliding movement in said cavities respectively, apair of actuators for respectively moving said reinforcing means backand forth in said cavities longitudinally of said bowlimhs for varyingthe tension of said bowlimbs, a handpiece for each of said actuators,and first and second indicating means for said handpieces to indicatethe respective tension adjustments of lack of said bowlimbs.

9. An adjustable bow as claimed in claim 8 including third and fourthreinforcing means slidable longitudinally of said bowiimbs, respectivelyproviding a further adjustment of the tension of said bowlirnbsx 10. Anadjustable bow as claimed in ciaim 9 in which one pair of saidreinforcing means provides coarse adjustment of the tension of saidbowlimbs, and another pair of said reinforcing means provides fineadjustment of the tension of said bowlimbs.

:k k k i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION PatentNo. 1410 D t d April 9, 191% Inventor(s) JAMES R. PALMA It is certifiedthat error appears in the above-identified patent and that said LettersPatent are hereby corrected as shown beiow:

Claim 1 column LI, i 6! change Hack to each Claim 8, column 6, line 1'],change "lack" to each Signed and sealed this 13th day of August 1974.

(SEAL) Attest:

McCOY M. GIBSON, JR. C. MARSHALL DANN Attesting Officer Commissioner ofPatents I FORM PC9-10 usccmu ac HGETB-FBQ 9 LLS. GOVERNMENT PIIHITHIGGI'FICI: llll 0-3iI-33l.

1. An adjustable bow comprising first and second bowlimbs each having acavity therein, a handle between said bowlimbs, a pair of elongatedreinforcing means positioned in said cavities for sliding movementtherein, first and second separate drive means for said reinforcing toadjust the tension of the respective bowlimbs means for separatelymoving each of said reinforcing means in said cavities longitudinally ofsaid bowlimbs for adjusting the tension of the respective bowlimbs, andthird and fourth reinforcing means spaced from said first mentionedreinforcing means for sliding movement longitudinally of said bowlimbsrespectively to provide a further adjustment of the tension of saidbowlimbs.
 2. An adjustable bow as defined in claim 1 in which each ofsaid drive means comprises rack teeth on the respective reinforcingmeans, a pinion meshing with said rack teeth, and an actuator extendingoutwardly from said pinion having a hand piece for manual actuation. 3.An adjustable bow as claimed in claim 2 in which said hand piececooperates with an indicating scale on one of said bowlimbs.
 4. Anadjustable bow as claimed in claim 1 in which said third and fourthreinforcing means are driven respectively by said first and second drivemeans.
 5. An adjustable bow as claimed in claim 1 including furtherdrive means for said third and fourth reinforcing means.
 6. Anadjustable bow as claimed in claim 5 including indicator means for saidfurther drive means.
 7. An adjustable bow as claimed in claim 1 in whichone pair of said reinforcing means provides coarse adjustment of thetension of said bowlimbs and another pair of said reinforcing meansprovides fine adjustment of the tension of said bowlimbs.
 8. Anadjustable bow comprising first and second bowlimbs each having a cavitytherein, a handle between said bowlimbs, a pair of elongated reinforcingmeans for sliding movement in said cavities respectively, a pair ofactuators for respectively moving said reinforcing means back and forthin said cavities longitudinally of said bowlimbs for varying the tensionof said bowlimbs, a handpiece for each of said actuators, and first andsecond indicating means for said handpieces to indicate the respectivetension adjustments of each of said bowlimbs.
 9. An adjustable bow asclaimed in claim 8 including third and fourth reinfOrcing means slidablelongitudinally of said bowlimbs, respectively providing a furtheradjustment of the tension of said bowlimbs.
 10. An adjustable bow asclaimed in claim 9 in which one pair of said reinforcing means providescoarse adjustment of the tension of said bowlimbs, and another pair ofsaid reinforcing means provides fine adjustment of the tension of saidbowlimbs.